"I mean, none of it makes sense," the world stopped making sense when Savil died and honestly in some sense the world stopped making sense when he met Vanyel "but - she claims to want to help, right? It'd be stupid to just ignore that." 

It feels like it has to be a trick. But....it doesn't feel like the sort of trick Leareth would use. Maybe that's a stupid heuristic to be using, here, but Vanyel doesn't have anything better. 

...He would have gone north to talk to Leareth. Alone, if he had to. It's odd, how clear and stark that feels, now that it's not even the choice he has to make in reality. 

"- I think I need to go speak with her."

Stef....is not actually going to bring up the fact that this is a decision the King should have an opinion on. The King is dying. 

"...I'm coming with you." 

"It might be a trap." 

"I'm not an idiot. Van." 

Are we partners or not, he doesn't say. 

...Vanyel hears it anyway. He's - very tired. And confused. He's way too tired for this much confusion. 

I need him. 

And he'll raise a Gate to the part of Polsinn he remembers clearest, which is the stretch of road he paved for them, leading into the city square. 

Stef sings so that it won't hurt him at all. 

It's still probably a trap. Of some kind. He doesn't understand what Leareth's gameplan is, here, and he's so tired of being confused. 

- he keeps all of his shields raised but extends his Thoughtsensing, looking for minds that don't fit with the surroundings. 

Very well and very weirdly shielded, praying for the dead. She didn't even think to ask where they'll go, here. Maybe they'll be together.

...He's not going to try to read her mind. He'll just - walk in that direction. (He doesn't reach out ahead with Mindspeech either, but this is half because he has no idea how to start a conversation when he hasn't even seen her face.) 

Van is an idiot but he's Stef's idiot. Stef follows him. (He's so curious.) 

And Iomedae will see a short, slender man, dressed in white and with heavily silver-streaked hair, walking toward her. 

She's in the most magical plate armor he's ever seen, wearing a ludicrous number of magic items on top of that. She stands, when he approaches, and addresses him with her own Mindspeech or something like it. 

:Can I help you?:

...Wow. That's - beautiful - he's going to try not to get distracted by the sheer number of fascinating magical items she's wearing....

:I don't know. I - was hoping I could help you, I think. ....I heard from Jisa that you were there when k'Treva Vale, er, exploded. I - have a lot of questions.: 

:That makes sense.: Diplomat, not a strike team, so that's good news in a sense. 

And she'll repeat the account she gave Jisa, with a bit more detail - she was explaining about Tar-Baphon, he seemed interested in whether Tar-Baphon might be operating here...

Vanyel is way too tired for this. 

(And stepping very very hard on any emotions he might be tempted to have about - whatever happened to k'Treva, which might or might not be this stranger's fault, he doesn't think she's to blame but that's a gut sense and he still feels pretty unsure how far to trust his intuitions on who to trust– ...no, that's not even right, he - mostly feels unsure on whether he can convince Randi and - that's stupid - and not the point, right now, focus on the mission–)

:I don't think Tar-Baphon is responsible for, er, recent events: he sends, absently, once it seems like she's finished her train of thought. :I - it sounds like a very memorable sort of magic he uses, that I don't recognize.

...I, er, I - think you're right, that you're from somewhere far away.: 

It feels like there should be a second clause to that sentence but his mind is failing to produce it, right now. 

:That's what I think too.

Do you know what happened? To the village?:

:No! I -: wouldn't have thought anyone other than Leareth could destroy k'Treva Vale, and why would he, what goal is this aimed at, :- hoped you could tell me more.: 

:I know only what I said. The other man went to - check on something - but he didn't seem urgently worried. If I had to guess I'd have guessed he'd - gotten an alert of some kind, an important one but not one of a threat to - everything -:

Vanyel takes a deep breath. 

:...I - want to tell you some things about, er, the person who I think could have done this.: Because, however uncharacteristic this is for Leareth, who else could it has been. :But I - don't know if I can trust you. I hope you understand.

- Do you mind if I cast a Truth Spell and ask you some questions?: 

:I don't object but it probably won't work. My mind is protected against charms and compulsions.:

Huh. How does that even work. Vanyel could probably muster curiosity at some other time that is not this time, instead of - tired frustration - but apparently tired frustration is all he has right now. He's never seen a Truth Spell not work before and is confused what that would even mean. 

:I'll see.: 

Truth spell - the first-stage version, this isn't adversarial enough (yet) to justify a second-stage coercive Truth Spell. Do the vrondi settle on this person's head like they normally do? 

They seem to have a slightly harder time ...finding it? Settling? But they do settle.

...That's odd. Vanyel is very tempted to ignore it but - this doesn't seem like a good time to ignore quiet notes of confusion, does it. Even though he's very tired and he wants everything to stop.

(And Stef is there, hovering quietly being Vanyel, singing a song under his breath that should make him seem like ignorable furniture - well, not furniture, they're in a random field, whatever - except that he doesn't really feel like it's working on this weird impressive scary woman at all, his Gift isn't getting much at all from her....)